MENA hotels report world's highest price rises

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has led the world in hotel price increases, according to HotelsCombined’s latest Hotel Price Trends Report.

The year-over-year report compared rates from December, January and February 2011/2012 to December, January and February 2012/2013 and found that hotels in the Middle East and North Africa increased in price by 8 percent. Overall, hotel prices worldwide increased 4 percent.

While as a region MENA led hotel price increases globally, the top individual locations for price rises were: Alanya and Marmaris, Turkey; Sousse, Tunisia; Bintan, Indonesia; and Vilamoura, Portugal.

Demand for Turkey’s ski resorts, which offer cheap package deals and high-quality snow fields, as well as reported increases in food and labour costs, saw Turkey in the top five price increase list twice. Accommodation prices in Alanya, Turkey increased 66 percent last quarter, seeing it take the report’s number one spot. Marmaras, Turkey was placed at number three with price increases of 37 percent.

On the report, HotelsCombined.com PR and community manager Kristen McKenzie said: “As we saw in last year’s report, the MENA region continues to post the greatest price increases. Egypt and Tunisia continue to show a strong rebound in tourism from the Arab Spring. However, Lebanon continues to struggle, likely because of its proximity to war-torn Syria.”

“It’s no surprise the MENA region is once again demonstrating strong growth. These destinations are booming for both leisure and business travellers, thanks to continued investment and added attractions like the world’s biggest ferris wheel planned for Dubai. We won’t see this area slowing down its hotel rate increases anytime soon.”

“We were, however, taken aback by the enormous rate spikes posted across Turkey. While this is probably due to increases in labour and food prices, as well as to the popularly of all-inclusive ski resorts, it’s important to note that Turkey has experienced significant technological growth recently, most especially within the online and mobile sectors. It will be interesting to see how this progress continues to impact Turkey’s tourism industry moving forward,” McKenzie concluded.